The Renegade
by Albax11
Summary: The renegade Asha'man Dulain Armala breaks free from the Black Tower, he is persued by his former compatriots. On his quest for justice and redemption, little does he know that his fate is somehow linked with that of a young woman named Zaide Rialdrin
1. A Beginning

_The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the the deep woodlands of Andor. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning..._

The calm autumn breeze seemed cool to the young Asha'man, Dulain Armala, as he passed through the gateway, cooler so by the fate he so narrowly escaped by the hands of his former compatriots. He raked a hand through his short, cropped black hair and sighed as he let Saidin slip away and the gateway winked out of existence. He felt hollow for a moment, soon followed by nausea and an overall drained state. Everything felt dull and dead, in comparison to how it was when holding Saidin. The world churned for a moment as the sickly emotions left him, and he had to steady himself on a nearby tree to keep from fainting. It was said each man reacted differently to the taint, some went insane the moment they touched Saidin, and some had a more gradual transition into madness. Some men lasted days, others lasted for years. Dulain had not channeled as much as his 'friends' at the black tower had. But he still did what was necessary to attain the rank of a full Asha'man.  
A large brown cloak was wrapped around him, covering his black Asha'man coat, with the silver sword and dragon pins on the neck. In a fit of anger he tore them off, ripping some of the fabric on his coat carelessly. He despised all they stood for, he hated the Asha'man, the very name is a mockery in itself, in the old tongue it means "Guardian", but they are no such thing. Abandoning his thoughts, he scanned the horizon for signs of habitation.  
"Anything will do, it would be nice to sleep in a bed tonight," he mumbled quietly to himself as he wrapped the cloak tighter, shivering in the wind. "But right now, I'd be happy if I find an abandoned barn," he scoffed, the thought of him talking to himself was amusing. Had he already lost sanity?  
Dulain noticed something rising in the distance, it looked like smoke, thin smoke one can imagine comes from a chimney. Dulain set off towards the light pillar of smoke, as twilight fell all around him...


	2. The Serpent

**The Serpent.**

Zaide Rialdrin's eyes shot open as the coach came to sudden a halt. She looked around the interior for a moment, Giranda Zedane's serene Aes Sedai gaze met hers with a small smile.  
"Sleepy, are we?" She said in her smooth Cairhienin accent, and went on before she could reply "It's time, Accepted."  
"Time for what, Sister Giranda?" Zaide replied sleepily, still rubbing her eyes, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, .  
"You'll see soon enough, child." she said with a smirk. Zaide's face darkened visibly. _She still calls me child, even though I'm almost a __full__ Aes Sedai just like her, _she thought. She heaved a sigh as she pushed open the coach door.  
The coach had stopped in front of a large wooden cabin surrounded by dense forest, when Zaide looked around, she realized there was no other houses in sight. Just the wilderness. Two mysterious figures stood at the entrance, wrapped in dark cloaks and their faces shrouded in hoods, they stood still as statues with long black swords at their waists. Zaide felt a shiver run down her spine, something was wrong. She closed her eyes, and surrendered to Saidar. But she couldn't reach the source, something was blocking her. She snapped her eyes open in realization.  
"Oh, Light no," she whispered, a tad too close to a whimper for her own liking. "Giranda, I can't reach-" as Zaide turned around she noticed the Green was engulfed in the light of Saidar, a sneer on her face as she looked down on Zaide, her lips curving into a malicious grin.  
"I'm going to enjoy this, _child," _Zaide tried to scream as the gag of air was pushed into her mouth...

As Dulain closed in on the source of the white smog, the dense vegetation suddenly revealed a large cabin. He stopped a moment, his eyes falling on the black draped shape that looked at him from the back door of the house. A shiver ran down his spine as he drew his sword, there was something unsettling about this man. The shape stood still a moment, too still for a man, then drew it's sword and started walking towards him. It had a flowing walk, like a serpent. The biggest shock came to Dulain when the thing took it's hood off.  
"A Fade!" He gritted his teeth, ignoring the fear in his voice. He immediately reached for Saidin, fighting those powerful torrents of the One Power, the life of Saidin filling him, along with the filthy taint. The Myrddraal merely smirked, still making no sound as it approached him. As their swords clashed, again and again, Dulain could see every last detail of the Myrddraals pasty face. Those empty eye-sockets that see everything and nothing . Dulain tore his gaze away from it's face as he deflected a hit that would have taken his head off, had he been a foot taller. Suddenly the Myrddraal pounced at him, and Dulain raised his hand, engulfing the Myrddraal in flame. He sidestepped casually, letting the shrieking Myrddraal fall to the ground in a ball of flames, still swinging it's sword at him. Dulain raised the sword over his head, taking a deep breath before letting it fall, taking the Myrddraal's head off, the flailing still continuing.  
Dulain glanced at his sword a moment, even the heron on it's hilt was covered in dark blood. Suddenly he saw something reflect in the blade, someone was behind him. He spun around in time to weave a small shield of air stopping the dark blade only inches from his face. Not giving the second Myrddraal time to respond, he wove air around it's arm and raised his hand in front of it's face, weaving fire into it's head, and air around it. If the Myrddraal had eyes, they would have been popping out of their sockets at that moment. Dulain held the weaves until the Myrddraal's twitching subsided, the remains of it's head nothing but slush...

When Zaide came to in the damp cellar, the first thing to hit her was a sharp pain across her face, and the taste of blood in her mouth. She was still tied and gagged with the one power, as she lowered her gaze, she noticed her white dress was spotted in deep crimson. Some of the blood had dried, some of it was still damp, sticking the cloth to her body. With Zaide's somewhat delayed reaction, due to the blood loss, she had not noticed Giranda standing infront of her, holding Zaide's hand in both of hers, tugging at her fingers.  
"Such pretty little fingers you have, Child," She mumbled as she planted a kiss on Zaide's hand. "It would be a shame if such pretty little fingers _broke_!" as Giranda spoke the last word, she bent Zaide's fingers back until a sharp crack was heard. Zaide wanted to scream, but the gag of air still suppressed any sound she made. She wished she would faint, just to numb out some of the pain, but she didn't. Zaide wasn't sure how much time had passed, but after what felt like an eternity, suddenly, something stirred in the shadows behind Giranda. Zaide had tried to keep the tears back, she had tried to distance herself, but she couldn't. Not that it mattered, she would probably die here. Feel a lot more pain and die. Tears welled up in her eyes again, she did not want to die. Zaide saw something move around in the shadows again, and she also heard the distinct sound of metal against metal. Giranda was too busy torturing her to notice the dark clad man sneak up on her.  
"So child, are you having fun? Because I -" Giranda blinked in suprise at the sword sticking out of her chest, as blood trickled from her lip. As soon as the blade was drawn out, Giranda collapsed on the floor, the sword the only thing that was still holding her up. Blood gushed from the wound in her chest, and slowly her twitching subsided. The last thing Zaide saw before she fainted was the dark clad man kneel beside Giranda and lift her head up and twist it around until a loud crack was heard.


	3. The Black and the White

**The black and the white.**

Dulain's green eyes studied the black haired woman who lay unconscious on the ground before him. She was wounded, the fingers on her left hand were bent back at an unnatural angle, broken, no doubt. Dulain sighed, as he knelt at the side of her, lifting her her head up by the chin to study her face. She had several lacerations running across her face, without care, they would probably leave some serious scarring. Her lips and face were swollen, she seemed to be in a lot of pain. Her breath was ragged, and weak. She needed his help or she would probably die. He closed his hands around of her face, as he reached for Saidin, shivering as the essence of life and death filled him. His skill with healing was limited, old man Flinn had tried to teach Dulain more of then the basics of healing, but Dulain just didn't have it in him. When he released Saidin, he gave a start as he removed his hands from the young woman's face. She was far more beautiful than he had first thought. Her curly dark hair went well with her pale, almost white complexion. She had high cheekbones in a suitably round face, her lips pouted in a way that under other circumstances would have seemed challenging to Dulain. He had done all he could to help her as far as his Healing ability went. However, he did know how to make a splint. He needed something flat and about the size of her hand and a cloth suitable to be wrapped around it, to keep it in place. He found that a broken off table leg would suffice. He tore the dead woman's dress where it was not bloodied, and quickly wrapped the cloth tightly against her hand against the piece of wood, pausing for a moment when whimpers rose from her.  
When Dulain's eyes fell on her other hand, he froze. He instantly recognized the great serpent ring. _By the light, she is an Aes Sedai._ But he couldn't just leave her now, it was too late for that, as he had saved her from certain death. He couldn't just walk away, not anymore. He scooped her up in his arms and propped her head against his shoulder, pausing a moment to look at her. _Light. she is beautiful._ Dulain gave himself a shake, and forced all those kinds of thoughts out of his head. After all, she was an Aes Sedai. He reached for Saidin and fixed a place in his head. He wove a gateway, and a shiver ran down his spine as he walked through it...  
All the while the shiver lingered along his spine...

Zaide woke up with a jolt, instinctively pulling her hands to her face. She couldn't feel any scar tissue, but a sharp pain surged through her left hand. She could remember all too vividly how the bones in her hand sounded while breaking. She winced at the thought, deciding to look around at her surroundings to take her mind of the throbbing pain in her hand. She could see a small village, with a harbor and thick woods spanning in all other directions, save for the ocean. Due to groggyness she hadn't noticed that someone was carrying her until that person suddenly stopped. She turned her head slowly, a dark clad man was looking down at her, the afternoon sun reflecting in his green eyes. She tried to scream and thrash but the man hastily clasped a hand over her mouth, she even reached for Saidar but she was too scared to focus.  
"I will not hurt you Aes Sedai" He said, neither his voice or expression wavering an inch. "If I remove my hand, will you promise me you won't make a fuss?" She slowly nodded in response.  
As he removed his hand and set her down on the ground, Zaide could feel her legs almost giving way, and she ended up leaning against the man for support despite her best efforts.  
"Are you alright, Aes Sedai?" She blinked at the title, giving herself a shake.  
"Yes... I'm fine." She managed a suitably regal voice, despite her state.  
"It's only a short distance left, are you sure you don't want me to carry you there?" His voice was filled with concern, but it scared Zaide how still his face was, and those eyes. She felt like those eyes looked at her as if he knew everything about her, it gave her chills.  
"A short distance left where?" She asked, failing at masking her suprise.  
The man offered her a thin smile, "To somewhere I've not been in a long time..." She blinked, dumbfounded. He raised his eyes towards the village, lowering his voice "I'm going home."


	4. Pursuit

_**Author's Notes: This chapter received alot of revisions, but I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out. **_

A shout echoed through the halls of the black tower, resonating off the walls before leaving everything still as death. Mazrim Taim was shaking, his fists flat against his large desk.  
"That's what the report said, M'hael" Pedelin managed to spit out before bowing his head submissivly.  
"I knew he was good, or he would not have been on my list for... further 'promotion'..." The man behind the large oak desk said, wearing his trademark half-smile. "Where did he learn to mask his weaves? The residue is... very hard to find." Taim paused a moment, looking deep in thought.  
"Send out an order for his capture, Pedelin, to my handpicked men." Taim started pacing back and forth between the two windows in the room, smirking wickedly "Tell them I want him back alive, but they're allowed to use... force, to persuade him."  
Pedelin blinked, and one glance at the devious look on Taim's face was enough to make him glad of his relativly safe inferior position.  
"At once M'hael." He gave a clumsy bow and scurried out of the room, chills running down his spine.

Outside the small cottage, Zaide watched the two men argue with a tilted head, a curious look on her face. The dark-clad man was arguing with a man as tall as himself, with similar features but with gray, thinning hair. Possibly a close relative. She was leaning against a nearby wall, feeling a little less drowsy, but still frail. She _would _have tried to use Saidar to listen in if she wasn't so sure that she would collapse afterwards.  
The man raised his voice slightly and gestured towards himself, she gave a start as he went on slowly, pointing at her. The older man kept a stern face, but seemed persuaded by that.  
The dark clad man walked towards her hastily, his step closely resembling that deadly sway of a Warder.  
"He will let us stay until you have recovered, Aes Sedai." He said, his scrutinous eyes locked on her.  
"I... do have a name you know." She said, speaking softer than intended.  
The man blinked and smiled at her, bowing deeply.  
"How rude of me, Aes Sedai, I've not told you my name yet." He grinned and went on "My name is Dulain Armala.".  
"You can call me... Lenora." She could have reahearsed that a few more times in her head, but at least her aches were beginning to feel a bit better, if anything.  
"A pleasure, Lenora Sedai..." he replied, giving her another quicker bow. Strange how this man kept treating her with the proper respect... he didn't seem like the kind of man who took heed of such a thing as White Tower formality.  
"The pleasure is all mine, Master Armala." She offered him a small curtsy, an attempt at any deeper and she might have found herself lying on the floor. She continually tried to hide her weariness.  
A cold gust of wind blew past them, and Zaide found herself shivering to the bone. The man smirked, turning on his heels and walking off in the opposite direction.

The interior of the small cottage looked familiar. Actually, Dulain failed to notice anything deviating from how it looked in his memory. Dulain sighed as he squatted in front of the fireplace, the young, darkhaired Aes Sedai was already fast asleep in the guest room. He could see the weariness on the woman's face, but seemingly she would not admit it until she realized it herself by laying her head down on a pillow. It had been a good while since he was last here... with all the things he had lived through after joining the Black Tower, it felt like a lifetime ago. In spite of that he could still remember the sweet scent of his mother's baking wafting through the air. He closed his eyes, sighing softly as he went through it in his head, as if to see if the memory was still there.

_He looked up at his mother expectantly, the late spring's evening sunshine spreading a pleasant warmth through the air.  
"Dulain." She spoke softly, smiling at him. "Since you did your chores so well, and ate all your food, I'll let you go outside and play until it gets dark." She barely had time to finish the sentance before he had rushed outside.  
"Thanks, mom!" he shouted, rushing towards the edge of town, trying to catch up with **her** before she also had to go home.  
The sun was beginning to set, the recent seasonal change from spring to summer in effect, making the sunset longer. Dulain stopped for a moment as he reached the town square, throwing a glance to the harbour. It still being visible even from his location, he could clearly see the ships bobbing up and down, the water clucking against their hulls.  
He had already come halfway, running the distance left before the sut set all the way would be a problem. But he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, his destination now coming into view.  
The highest point for miles, a cliff set overlooking the village, and the setting sun was clear in view. The silhouette of someone cast against the horizon, and as he came closer he had to squint to be able to see the person's face clearly. The usual bright and carefree smile that Rieala wore was replaced by an unfamiliar gloominess.  
"Rieala!" He shouted, waving frantically as he ran towards her.  
"Dully!" She squeaked back, turning to face him as her hands quickly go behind her back.  
"What's wrong." He asked, tilting his head at her.  
"N-nothing! I'm fine!" She said, her face going scarlet. "I-I'm just thinking about something."  
Dulain arched an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"You're acting very weird." He said, his tone annoyed. "What the matter with you?"  
She clenched her eyes shut, speaking on in a rapid voice:  
"Dulain, I have to leave..."  
"What, right now?" he asked, looking confused.  
"No, I mean the... Aes Sedai came to town a-and... and... they think I have... "  
"...the spark?" He finished, looking at his feet.  
She hesitated before looking at him, a faint smile on her lips.  
"It's not like I won't ever come back..."  
"Really?" He spoke softly, not daring to meet her gaze.  
"Yeah, I promise you that I will." She replied, smiling brightly at him.  
They both turned to look at the sunset, enjoying the view... _

That was long ago now, a different him. Joining the Black Tower, learning to master the One Power and Dumai Wells. He shivered in remembrance. There had been so many deaths and for what, The Dragon Reborn? The Black or the White Tower?  
Dulain scowled at the fire as it sparkled, baring his teeth. He wanted to forget Dumai Wells, but as sure as the taint was beginning to infect his mind, the memories stayed.  
Rising to his feet, Dulain turned, walking towards the front door.  
He pulled his hood up as the night sky met him with rain...


End file.
